TriMet honors safe drivers

The TriMet board of directors will meet the latest bus operator to achieve a Million Miles of Safety. Dwight Botel joins the ranks of 12 other operators who have driven a million miles safely. It takes at least 30 years to reach this milestone, and operators must earn a National Safety Council Safe Driver Award every year.

"This is a tremendous accomplishment, especially given the dynamic and challenging environment our operators deal with every day," said Shelly Lomax, TriMet executive director of operations. "It's truly a testament to our commitment to safety."

Botel, 58, has worked for TriMet for 31 years.

During his 31 years at TriMet, Botel has driven the equivalent of 182,000 one-way trips on Line 25-Glisan/Rockwood; 15,000 round trips on the Blue Line; or two trips to the moon and back.

His son, Blaine Botel, is also a TriMet bus operator, and the two were featured in a Father's Day story on TriMet's website.

A Million Miles of Safety is TriMet's designation for those employees who have earned 30 or more Safe Driver Awards. A professional driver earns one Safe Driver Award for each year (1,960 hours) without an accident deemed preventable. The National Safety Council defines "a preventable collision" as "one in which the driver failed to do everything that reasonably could have been done to avoid it."

KC Rogers was also inducted into the Million Miles of Safety club this year. Others include bus operator Rolynd Puckett, 2011 Bus Operator of the Year; and Cynthia Kassab, 2006 Bus Operator of the Year.